Advice for asteroid impact effect

[alessandromastronardi]

Hello guys, I'm really new to PhoenixFD so I'm looking for any advice on a simulation I'd like to achieve. At step 1, I'd like to have an asteroid impact a planet: I think I have enough basics to get there; step2, the asteroid shatters on collision generating a cluster of debris falling on the planet. So, question is, can a PhoenixFD emitter be made so that it calculates collision during its trajectory and shatter in pieces (i.e. generating sub-emitters)? Thanks for any suggestion.

[joconnell]

It's pretty much doing this as a rigid body sim using ray fire first, then using the rayfire pieces as emission sources for phoenix?

[alessandromastronardi]

It's pretty much doing this as a rigid body sim using ray fire first, then using the rayfire pieces as emission sources for phoenix?

Thanks for the suggestion. Can the shattered asteroid pieces be programmatically made emitters? Or would I have to "fake" them and manually build those?

[joconnell]

Yeah, rayfire just outputs editable poly objects with keyframes for the movement! when it shatters it also applies different material ids to the newly created inside and fragment edge polys so you can tell phoenix to emit from only the sides or the back bits of your fragments.

[alessandromastronardi]

Yeah, rayfire just outputs editable poly objects with keyframes for the movement! when it shatters it also applies different material ids to the newly created inside and fragment edge polys so you can tell phoenix to emit from only the sides or the back bits of your fragments.

Wow that sounds really intriguing, but there is a tutorial or some information about it? I am very new to Phoenix FD and feel still a bit lost.

[joconnell]

Rayfire is a separate plugin for max, kind of a cheap one and you can do basic sims with the free trial. What you're talking about is rigid body dynamics and fracturing which isn't something phoenix does, phoenix is only going to do the fiery trails from your asteroid! phoenix for all the gassy bits, rayfire for all the solid planetary bits

[alessandromastronardi]

Thanks a lot, understood now!